Crypto May Not Yet Be Illegal In China; Here’s Why

There may still be a glimmer of hope for the crypto industry in China. Zhejiang, a province in eastern China, has sparked speculation that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may not be completely kicked out. Zhejiang community planner has directed that electricity tariffs for cryptocurrency miners should be hiked.

Crypto may still be legal in China

The notice published by the Provincial Development and Reform Commission (PDRC) of Zhejiang requires that the electricity bill of cryptocurrency miners should be increased by 0.50 yuan (about $0.08) per kilowatt-hour.

 Different electricity prices are implemented for virtual currency ‘mining’ electricity, and the price increase standard is 0.50 yuan per kilowatt-hour, the Zhejiang PDRC notice stated.

The notice is an implementation of the directive spelled out by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in its “Notice on Remediation of Virtual Currency “Mining” Activities” release late last year.

The directive, which has also been implemented in other Chinese provinces including Inner Mongolia and Hainan, is aimed at stifling crypto mining across the country with high electricity bills. But according to Chinese crypto journalist, Colin Wu, it leaves a loophole that can allow crypto to not be outrightly banned under the current Chinese legal system noted.

“This means that the Chinese government is trying to stop cryptocurrency mining with high electricity bills rather than an outright ban, and it means that it may not be illegal to hold bitcoin and mine bitcoin under the existing Chinese legal system,” Wu said.

China and Asia continue to crackdown on crypto

China has a storied history with cryptocurrency bans. Last year, the country implemented a series of regulations targeted at completely driving crypto out from within its borders. However, the country has not let go of the technology completely. China is still working on its central bank digital currency, the digital yen. The country still has interests in blockchain technology as well as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

Some other Asian countries, including India, have shown interest in taking a cue from China. The deputy governor of India’s central bank, T Rabi Sankar, recently called for a complete ban on cryptocurrencies.